Welcome to the second round of our Long Suffering Tournament, as we work our way to find out who the Supreme Suffering Squad of LSF is for 2010. The second round should roll a little faster, as we have already laid out why these teams and their fan bases are suffering, and now it's just a matter of picking between them. We'll start with the Football Bracket.
(2) Everton v (6) Chivas USA:
Why Everton suffers more than Chivas- A long history of relegation, an eighth place finish in the EPL this season, and a real yo yo-ing style of play throughout their history.
Why Chivas suffers more than Everton: Starting the season 3-6-1 this year, having everyone's favorite OC Boy dropped from the World Cup team, disappointing fans despite winning the West the previous year. It's been a suffering history over the last 6 years.
And the winner is... Everton. A much longer history of suffering, and poorer play in more recent seasons helped Everton take the cake.
(3) 49'ers v (4) St. Louis Rams
Why the 9'ers suffer more than the Rams: No playoffs since 2002 and no Super Bowl win since 1994. Just 18 wins from 2004-2007 (4 years), shows we're a long way from the Dynasty SF team we grew up with.
Why the Rams suffer more than the 49'ers: We suck ace right now. 1 win last year, 2 the year before that, 3 the year before that. I mean, we have just been flat pathetic. Now, we're putting all our hopes and dreams into an unproven college QB after sending Mr. Fantasy on his way. Will the Ramies ever be good again?
And the winner is... The 49'ers. Weird, I know. Despite the Rams recent incredible struggles, they at least won a Super Bowl in 1999, and as recently as 2004 they were 12-4 and in the middle of a playoff run. While not as dramatically suffering right now, San Fran have been poor for a longer stretch of time.
Matchups for third round:
(1) Newcastle United v (3) 49'ers
(2) Everton (bye)
Moving on to the second round of the Alumni Bracket.
(2) Rice v (6) UCLA
Why Rice is suffering more than the Bruins: A recent 45 year Bowl drought, and never winning a title for the school since their inception during the days of my Grandfather.
Why UCLA is suffering more than the Owls: Being completely overshadowed by USC on the landscape of the Los Angeles sports scene is tough, and not being the National Champs 1954 has a lot to do with it. Sure there has been some excitment here and there, but overall it's been one big pile of suffering.
And the winner is... UCLA. Man, Brandon is going to kill me, but hear me out. Expectations for the Bruins, both among their fan base and Nationally are always fairly high. Much higher than for Rice. Thus, the repeated poor seasons for the Bruins have induced much more suffering than on Rice's campus. What an upset!
(3) Providence v (4) Notre Dame
Why the Friars suffer more than the Irish: Only twice in the history of Providence basketball has this squad made the Final Four, and the most recent appearance was 1987. Last season they finished 12-19. Rough times Rhode Island.
Why the Irish are suffering more than the Friars: An overall bowl record of 14-15 has been sending fans suffering long into the offseason for some time. We just wait for September to ome back around for redemption. No titles since 1988, and the last 5 years under Charlie Weis were the worst 5 years since the 1981-1985 tenure, in terms of winning percentage. Now we're thinking about joining the Big Ten? No!!!!!
And the winner is... Providence! That one's for B. While ND has been suffering as of late..bad, we have hope that the squad will be good. We have that hope every year, and Irish fans kind of live in this delusional land that we are good every year. We kind of block that suffering out. The same cannot be said for Providence fans, who know they suck and live with it everyday of their lives.
The third round matchups are:
(1) Wake Forest v (6) UCLA
(3) Providence (bye)
Finally, we bring you the third round of the All American bracket.
(1) Blackhawks v (7) Angels
Why the Hawks suffer more than the Halos: No Stanley Cup finals win since 1961. They may have 2 other Cup wins in their history, but it was a little easier during the Orignal 6 era, so they don't really count. In 2004, ESPN bestowed the Hawks with the honor of "Worst Franchise in Professional Sports."
Why the Angels suffer more than the Hawks: For starters, Chicago are currently playing in the Stanley Cup finals, and the Halos haven't been to a final in their sport for 8 years. I mean, I have to go with the Angels here based just on that. Unless the lose the cup to the surprising Flyers, the suffering is over in Chi Town for puck heads.
And the winner is... The Angels really got a lucky second round draw here. The only #7 seed to roll on.
(3) Canucks v (6) Blue Jays
Why the 'Nucks are suffering more than Toronto: No Stanley Cup win since the team was started in 1970 and constant playoff losing has led to this West Coast town being one of the most suffering in all of Canada.
Why the Jays suffer more than Vancouver: Being in the AL East is tough, and no titles since 1993 shows just how tough it is. Since that title, the teams highest regular season winning percentage is .543, while the lowest was a hard to swallow .389. Not to mention the long slow decline of their logo over the years.
And the winner is... Vancouver. No offense to Toronto here, because I respect their suffering, but we've never won the Cup...ever. We win.
Here are the third round matchups:
(2) Clippers v (7) Angels
(3) Canucks (bye)
So, the third round battles are all set up. We have Vancouver, Providence, and Everton all getting byes into their respective bracket finals. Exciting stuff. Remember to drop a post or a comment helping to pick the winners as we move forward.
P.S. I just realized that I somehow left Andrew's Leafs out of the tournament altogether. What the heck was I thinking? Well, they would have been eliminated by now, so I guess it's all good. I'll give them some kind of boost in next year's tournament. Sorry.
Hope you're enjoying the suffering.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
3 comments:
Risky eliminating the Blackhawks so soon. If they lose, doesn't that erase a lot? Then again, the Sabres should have beat the Angels, so this point is moot. I mean you're talking about a city that has had good, even great teams that have not ever produced a champion. The Bills made it to the Superbowl 4 straight years and couldn't do it. The Sabres have been blanked in the Stanley Cup Finals, including one of the most epic, suffering filled exits. Ugh. Even the Clippers were trash when they played there. Buffalo is the equivalent of serious suffering. I know making it there alleviates some suffering, but doesn't continually making it there and then falling short superceed a ond shot wonder like the Angels? I know 2002 seems so long ago (plus Morales' Unable to Walk Off Walk Off is fresh in your head) and it's easy to lose sight of such things as serious long term suffering outside of our perspective here in OC, so I won't complain too much about a hometown pick or author bias. As far as fanbase, I guess it's a testament to Buffalonians (Buffalo Wings?) for their all out support.
Then again, UCLA, the most champion of all universities (check the numbers) just beat Rice. And though these teams played recently in football with UCLA winning both times, I understand the expectation factor with one of the only sports to not have a NC at UCLA. With Rice, I guess any sort of real success goes far beyond expectations. SO I guess I can see the argument in football alone, but any other sport (okay, baseball, too) there's no freaking way!
The Sabres won the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999...not too long ago. Their last sub .500 season was 8 years ago and that was during a brief three year period when they actually were bad. Outside of that, they've been consistently good. I'm not comparing the city, but only the team. Looking at the Angels, how many years have the racked up a pathetic season that drove the fans away? I'd say they have way more history of being bad than the Sabres. Their title was a one shot wonder, like you said, which further proves my case.
I'm surprised you weren't mad about Wake Forest beating Servite!
Ah, makes a lot more sense if you aren't looking at Buffalo, the city. Still a close call, especially if the Angels continue their run of AL West Championships (though the Sabres still rack up wins, so maybe they're pretty similar). Maybe they'd be in the running in a future article: Most Suffering City?
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